


The Best Way to Make Friends

by Bookworm1063



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Gen, JATP Secret Santa 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:27:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28316013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookworm1063/pseuds/Bookworm1063
Summary: Flynn is new to Los Feliz High School, where the winners of the annual Battle of the Bands basically rule the school for the next year. She and her new friend Julie plan to reunite the school's most popular band and win the Battle.
Relationships: Flynn & Julie Molina, background Alex/Willie, background Julie/Luke - Relationship
Comments: 5
Kudos: 56





	The Best Way to Make Friends

**Author's Note:**

> A gift for @bi-kyoshis on Tumblr, as part of the JATP Secret Santa event. Happy holidays! Hope you enjoy!

When Flynn’s parents had told her they were moving, and that she’d get to attend a small preforming arts high school, she hadn’t been picturing this.

The bus was packed with kids, all of them screaming and throwing things at each other. There was one empty seat in the back, and Flynn took it. She only lived a couple of miles from her new school, but neither of her parents had time to drive her.

“Hey, did you hear?” someone said. Flynn turned around, but they weren’t talking to her.

“Sunset Curve just took their name off the Battle sign ups!”

“Holy mother of—they’re really broken up, aren’t they?”

“Apparently. Hey, did you hear this, though?” One kid passed an Air Pod across the aisle to another. “Great song, isn’t it? Bobby’s pretty good.”

“Oh, yeah,” the second kid agreed.

Flynn turned back around with a sigh. The gossip here was almost as bad as it had been at her last school. Some things, apparently, never changed.

Flynn’s first class was Physics, and she found the classroom without too much trouble. Of course, she had to start on a lab day.

“Flynn, right?” her new teacher said when she walked into the classroom. “Your lab partner can explain what we’re doing. You’re going to work with Julie. She’s at the station in the back.”

Flynn walked to the back of the classroom and dropped her bag next to the lab station. “Julie, right?”

The girl who must be Julie looked up, shook her hair out of her face, and nodded. “That’s me. What’s your name?”

“Flynn. Nice to meet you.” Flynn slid onto the empty stool next to Julie. “What are we doing?”

“Measuring how long it takes this car thing to roll down a track if you adjust the slope,” Julie said. “We’ll be done in ten minutes.”

“Cool,” Flynn said. “So, what landed you partnerless in Physics class?”

Julie looked away, concentrating on adjusting the slope of the ramp for the first trial run. “This is your first day here, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So you don’t know how things work. Basically, around here, the people on top are the people who have a future in preforming art. And the people at the very top are the people who complete in the Battle of the Bands every year.”

“Oh yeah,” Flynn said. “I overheard some people talking about that. What’s a Band Battle?”

“Battle of the Bands!” Julie looked scandalized. “It’s a contest, basically. People try out all through February, and in March, there’s a big contest between the five best bands in the school. Winners play at Prom in May and rule the school for the next year, basically. The past two, this girl group called Dirty Candy has come in second place. I had a falling out with the lead singer, so people kind of avoid me now.”

Flynn picked up the wooden car and sent it sliding down the ramp. “6.5 seconds.” She waited for Julie to write it down, then said, “Define _falling out_.”

“She dumped me.”

“That sucks,” Flynn said.

“Yeah. And then, right after that, the band that’s won every year for the past three years broke up.”

“Sunset Curve,” Flynn said. She let the car go down again. “7.3 this time.”

“You know about that?” Julie scribbled down some more numbers.

“No one will shut up about it. What happened?”

“One of their guitarists—my ex’s brother, actually—released a bunch of songs on Spotify. They’re all really good. He got, like, a record deal and everything. Except the rumor is that Bobby wrote those songs _with_ the rest of Sunset Curve, or even that they were written by the lead singer on his own, and Bobby stole them. Either way, the band broke up over it.”

“Wow,” Flynn said. “I was wrong. The gossip here is way better than at my old school. Not that your heartbreak is gossip,” she added.

“It’s alright,” Julie said. “I was kind of over Carrie, anyway.”

“Well,” Flynn said. “Good. I don’t want to spend all my time consoling my friend about her trashy ex.” She released the car. “8.7 seconds.”

Julie didn’t write it down. “We’re friends?”

“Yes.”

And that was that.

It didn’t take Flynn long to track Julie down at lunch. Hers was the only empty table.

“You know, you could sit with someone a little more popular than me,” Julie said. “You’re making yourself a pariah.”

“Don’t care,” Flynn said. “This place is like High School Musical. You realize that, right?”

“Yes,” Julie said.

“Also, I’ve been thinking,” Flynn said. “You said the people who win the Battle rule the school until the next year.”

“Essentially, yeah,” Julie said.

“So what if _we_ won? I’m new, and you’re recently dumped by the Queen Bee. If we won, it would solve all our problems.” Flynn leaned forward, propping her elbows up on the table, waiting for Julie’s response.

“I’ve thought about it,” Julie admitted. “But you need at least three people. We have two.”

“One,” Flynn admitted. “I’m here for theater, not music.” She scanned the rest of the cafeteria. “Hey, mind pointing out these famous band people?”

Julie looked up, frowning. “Um… over there? Blonde girl? Pink fuzzy jacket? That’s Carrie Wilson.”

“The ex.”

“Yeah. She’s sitting with her band, Dirty Candy. They’re pretty good, actually. And that’s her brother, Bobby. Let’s see. Over there, with all the kids in, like, flannel? That’s Reggie Peters. Blond boy two tables over is Alex Mercer, and the one with the notebook over there is Luke Patterson. They’re all former members of Sunset Curve.”

Flynn nodded. A new plan was already forming.

“Julie,” she said. “How do you feel about reuniting a band?”

Julie looked at Flynn, eyebrows raised. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am,” Flynn said. “Get Sunset Curve back together, stick it to Carrie Wilson when we win the Battle of the Bands, play at Prom, and be set for life until we graduate. Easy.”

“This is crazy,” Julie admitted, but she was smiling. “I’m in.”

Julie was the one who knocked on the door of the music room. It had been two days since Flynn had proposed her plan, and they’d decided that this was the easiest way to ambush a member of Sunset Curve.

“It’s open,” a voice inside called.

Reggie Peters was packing away a guitar when Julie and Flynn entered the room. “I was just leaving. Space is all yours.”

“Actually, we wanted to talk,” Julie said. “To you.”

Reggie set down his guitar. “To me?”

“Yeah. We’re forming a band…” Julie said slowly. She glanced back over her shoulder at Flynn, who gestured for her to continue. They’d decided that since Julie would be the one actually in the band, she should do most of the talking. “And we wondered if you, and maybe the rest of Sunset Curve, might want to join.” 

Reggie stared at her. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Julie said.

“Do you sing?”

“Yes. I also play piano. And I’m a songwriter.”

“Luke was our songwriter.” Reggie smiled sadly. “Look, I want to. I really do. But the band is gone. No one wants to hash all that out again.”

“Did you even try to hash it out the first time?” Flynn interrupted. “You all don’t seem like the best at communication. Just saying.”

Julie looked mortified, but Reggie laughed.

“We were better before everything went south,” he said. “Why us? Because we always win?”

“Yeah,” Julie admitted. “But I also listened to some of Bobby’s songs—”

“Luke’s songs,” Reggie corrected. “Our songs.”

“So it’s true?” Julie asked. Reggie sighed and nodded.

“I mean, yeah. Luke wrote those songs. Bobby recorded them and took the credit, and of course no one can prove otherwise. It’s not like they were copyrighted. And maybe we could have ditched Bobby and kept going, but Luke and Alex both had other stuff going on, so. We all split up.”

“But you want the band back,” Julie pressed.

“Sure,” Reggie said. “Sunset Curve was my family.”

“Okay,” Julie said. “So _help us_. We stop being nobodies, and you get to play with your friends again.”

Reggie considered her for a moment. Then he nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “We’ll go to Alex’s place, then Luke’s. Don’t mention Alex’s ex or Luke’s family, and we might be okay.” Reggie lifted his guitar and slung the strap over his shoulder.

“I swear,” Julie said, as she and Flynn followed Reggie down the hall. “Is everyone in this school going through a breakup?” 

Reggie, Julie, and Flynn took a bus into downtown LA. The Mercer family lived in a small residential neighborhood, in a two-story single-family home with a neat row of bright flowers next to the front walk. Reggie knocked on the door, looking nervous.

A blonde woman answered it. “Oh! Hello, Reggie. It’s been a little while since we’ve seen you around here.”

“Hi, Mrs. Mercer,” Reggie said. “Is Alex home?”

“Yes.” Mrs. Mercer smiled at Flynn and Julie. “And who are you two?”

“Friends of mine,” Reggie said. “Can we come in?”

“I’ll send Alex down here,” Mrs. Mercer said. “You four can talk in the living room.” She stepped aside to clear the doorway. Flynn, Julie, and Reggie filed in.

Reggie led the way to the living room at the back of the house. A minute later, the door opened, and a blond boy who must have been Alex stepped in. “Reggie, hi.” 

Reggie stood, and the two boys hugged. “Hey, Alex,” Reggie said. “How are you doing?”

“I’ve been better,” Alex admitted. “Who are you guys?”

“I’m Flynn, this is Julie,” Flynn said. Julie waved.

“We’re trying to get the band back together,” Reggie said. “Without Bobby, of course.”

“And you still need a drummer,” Alex said. “I could probably use some time with a drum kit. Is this, like, Battle of the Bands material? Or are we just doing the friends-playing-in-someone’s-garage thing?”

“We’re winning the Battle,” Julie said. It was the first time Flynn had ever heard her say it.

“What she said,” Flynn added.

Alex took a deep breath. His left hand started picking at the leather bracelets he wore around his right wrist, but he said, “Okay. Sign me up. I could use a distraction.”

Reggie and Alex had wanted to talk to Luke alone, but Flynn insisted that she and Julie come, so now Flynn was standing outside a garage on the opposite side of town from her new house at seven o’clock on a school night. Her parents were going to kill her.

“It’s our old studio,” Alex explained. “Luke’s been crashing here for a few weeks.”

The garage was set apart from the rest of the house, so Reggie and Alex had snuck them onto the property through the back gate. Reggie knocked on the door.

When no one answered, Reggie grabbed the door handle and yanked it open.

The garage was a cluttered mess of instruments. Someone had clearly been sleeping on an old couch against one wall; it was made up with blankets and a pillow. There was a bathroom tucked away in a corner. The door was open, so Flynn could see the pile of clothes on the floor.

“Hey, guys. Invite yourselves in, why don’t you.”

Luke was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a notebook open in front of him. He snapped it shut, stood up, and hugged both Alex and Reggie. “I was wondering if you’d ever show up.”

“I’ve been kind of distracted,” Alex said.

Reggie murmured, “I wasn’t sure you’d want me here.”

“Hi, I’m Flynn,” Flynn said. “This is Julie. We’re reforming your band.”

Luke looked at them over Alex’s shoulder. His eyes met Julie’s.

Julie looked away, then back again. “We still need someone on guitar. You’re the best there is.”

“Thanks,” Luke said. “I appreciate it, I really do. But I’ve got some other stuff going on, alright?”

“You’re sure?” Reggie asked. “It would mean a lot, having you back.”

“Yeah,” Luke said. “I’m sure.”

Alex and Reggie both looked defeated. Flynn was about to open her mouth and tell Luke exactly what good she thought it would do him, wallowing in a garage by himself, when Julie stepped forward.

“I’ve been watching you play for three years,” she said. “I read that interview you gave the school paper two months ago. You talked about how much music means to you. How much your band means to you. Whatever’s going on in your life, I doubt it’s changed all that.”

Luke stared at her, and this time, she didn’t look away. 

“You talked about how your band was your family,” Julie said. “And how music was such a huge part of who you are, and it let you connect with so many people, and how it feels to finish writing a song. Do you not care about that anymore?”

For a moment, the garage was silent.

Then Luke said, “I care.”

The next morning, Flynn walked up to the sign-up sheet next to the cafeteria’s main doors. Luke was with her.

“You know all our last names?” Luke asked. Flynn nodded.

In her neatest handwriting, she put down the names of the band members— _Julie Molina, Luke Patterson, Alex Mercer, Reggie Peters._

“Do you have a band name in mind, or are we going with Sunset Curve?” Flynn asked.

“Not Sunset Curve,” Luke said. “This was your idea. Flynn and the…”

“I’m not technically in the band,” Flynn pointed out. “Julie and the…”

“Phantoms,” Luke said. “Because Sunset Curve is dead. And it sounds cooler than _Julie and the Ghosts.”_

Flynn lifted her pencil and wrote it down, next to their names: _Julie and the Phantoms._

None of her new friends were in Flynn’s last class of the day. She sat alone at one of the large, brightly painted tables in the art room, working on the planning sheets for her next photo shoot. 

“It’s Flynn, right?” someone said. Flynn turned around and looked up.

A blonde girl in a skirt and a pink tank top stood behind her. Carrie.

“Hey!” Flynn said. “Wow. You’re _the_ Carrie Wilson, aren’t you? You broke my friend’s heart.”

Flynn had the satisfaction of seeing Carrie’s eyes widen in shock, just for a moment, before her perfect smile fell back in place.

“And you’re the girl who thinks she can just walk into a new school and start a band,” Carrie said. “A band you’re not even in. Do you, like… _do_ anything, or are you just their cheerleader?”

“What do you want?” Flynn asked. She was tired of this conversation. She wanted to finish her planning sheet so she wouldn’t have to do it for homework.

“Take your name off the signups,” Carrie said. “I’m doing you a favor. Sparing you the humiliation of playing against Dirty Candy.”

Flynn smiled.

“But it’s just like you said, Carrie,” she said. “I’m not in the band. My name isn’t on the sheet. What exactly is it that you want me to do? Or are you just threatened by the new girl?”

She said that last sentence loud enough for half the art room to hear. Heads started to turn.

Carrie’s lips pursed, then smoothed out into a smile. She turned and walked away.

They only had a month until Battle tryouts, so Flynn threw herself into the band. Julie and Luke wrote songs, Alex and Reggie practiced every free moment they had, and Flynn worked on outreach. If they made it past tryouts, the winner of the Battle would be based on a vote by the students, so Flynn created an Instagram, a Twitter, and a Tumblr account for Julie and the Phantoms. Every day, she posted clips of rehearsals and selfies of the band and funny stories. She blocked the Wilson siblings from every account she maintained, and sat in on every single one of the band’s practice sessions, five nights a week in Sunset Curve’s old studio.

The night before tryouts, Julie called Flynn. It was almost midnight, but Flynn picked up the phone.

“Flynn, what if this is it?” Julie asked.

“It won’t be,” Flynn said. “You guys are amazing. Everyone thinks you’re amazing, Julie.”

“Carrie doesn’t.”

“Who cares what Carrie thinks?” Flynn sat down at the end of her bed, shoving papers and notebooks out of her way as she did. “Carrie dumped you, so clearly she’s an idiot. And Bobby’s a lying, cheating—”

“Okay!” Julie said. “I get it. Thanks.”

“Of course,” Flynn said. “I’ll be cheering for you.” 

Flynn was sitting at the table she usually shared with Julie in the cafeteria when Luke sat down next to her, carrying a lunch tray. Normally, the boys sat scattered across the room, with whatever friends they’d made since Sunset Curve broke up; Julie and the Phantoms never ate lunch together.

“How was it?” Flynn demanded. Before Luke could answer, Alex, Reggie, and Julie all joined them at the table.

“Well?”

Reggie cracked first. “We’re in!’”

“Yes!” Flynn pumped her fist in the air and hugged Julie. The boys were laughing and hugging, too. Flynn saw Julie meet Luke’s eyes, and they both blushed.

“Man,” Reggie said. “This is awesome.”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “I can’t believe…” He trailed off, peering at something behind Luke.

Flynn twisted around, but it was just more kids eating lunch. “What?”

“Nothing,” Alex said.

“Willie,” Luke and Reggie said.

“His ex,” Luke clarified. Alex sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Which one?” Luke pointed Willie out, and Flynn whistled. “Alex, you actually have decent taste in men. He’s cute.”

“What happened?” Julie asked, somewhat gentler.

“Nothing, really,” Alex said. “We got together last year. I thought… It’s silly, but I though he was _the one_ , you know? And then I got really into the band, and he was skateboarding, and it all kind of fell apart.”

“Do you still love him?” Julie asked.

“Sure,” Alex said. “Yeah. I do.”

Julie put her hand on Alex’s arm, and Flynn suddenly realized that she cared about Alex’s broken heart as much as Julie did. She cared about all of them.

The boys were her friends. When had that happened?

She was saved having to think about it too much by the arrival of someone else at the table.

“Hey, guys,” Bobby Wilson said.

Julie pulled her hand away from Alex and frowned. Luke stood up, putting himself at eye level with Bobby.

“How’s it going?” Bobby asked.

“Super,” Luke said. “Yeah, it’s been just great since you, you know, _stole our music.”_

Bobby at least had the sense to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Luke.”

“Don’t care.” Luke sat back down and took a bite of his apple.

“Come on,” Bobby said. “Look, I did what I had to do, okay? You know how the music industry is. And I had as much a hand in those songs as you did.”

“Yeah, well, we always said we wouldn’t be like that,” Luke said. “And it wasn’t just me you screwed over.”

Bobby seemed to remember then that Reggie and Alex existed. “Oh. Yeah. You’re right.” He glanced hopefully around the table, but no one said anything.

“Anyway,” Bobby continued. “It’s my senior year, and I really wanted to play in the Battle one last time. I hear you got past tryouts, so… room for one more?”

Luke told Bobby, in no uncertain terms and using more unprintable language than Flynn thought she’d ever heard in her life, to get lost.

When he was gone, Flynn said, “Luke. You alright?”

“Yeah,” Luke said. He looked at Flynn, and Alex, and Reggie. His eyes lingered on Julie. “It doesn’t matter. We’ve got new music now.”

“You like Luke,” Flynn said.

She and Julie were sitting side by side on the bus, on their way to the studio. The Battle of the Bands was tomorrow.

“Maybe a little,” Julie said. “Why?”

“I think it’s cute,” Flynn said. “He’s clearly into you.”

“You think so?” Julie ducked her head a little, smiling to herself.

“Sure,” Flynn said. “After you four win the Battle, though, and achieve Los Feliz High School stardom, you’re not allowed to forget me.”

“I don’t really care about that,” Julie said thoughtfully. “I know it’s the reason we started this whole thing, but I got what I wanted, didn’t I? Friends.”

“Me too,” Flynn said. She leaned her head against Julie’s shoulder. “You’re my best friend, Jules.”

“Yeah,” Julie said. “You’re mine, too.”

Flynn sat with Julie and the boys on the floor of the studio. They were all in pajamas, wrapped in blankets and sitting on sleeping bags.

Someone knocked on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Luke said. “This is technically my place.” He stood and opened the garage door. Flynn helped herself to another mouthful of popcorn from the bowl Reggie had made earlier.

“Oh,” Luke said. “You are not here for me. _Alex!”_

Alex stood and crossed to the door. Luke shoved him through it. “I’ll let you two have a moment.”

When Luke sat back down, the door closed behind him, he was smiling. “It’s Willie.”

“Oh my god,” Julie said. “Do you think they’ll work it out? Broken hearts suck.”

“I wouldn’t really know,” Luke said, frowning thoughtfully. “Alex was my only serious relationship—this was years ago—and we obviously stayed friends after it ended. I hate seeing him fall apart over Willie, though. He really loves him.”

“This is why I don’t date in the friend group,” Reggie said with a sigh. “I wouldn’t want to be around my ex constantly.”

When Alex returned, he was smiling.

“Well?” Luke asked eagerly.

“We’ll see,” Alex said.

Flynn stood backstage in the school gym, watching Julie murmur song lyrics to herself.

_“Whatever happens, even if I’m the last standing, I’ma stand tall, I’ma stand tall….”_

“Julie,” Flynn said. She reached out, and Julie paused in front of her. Flynn took her friend’s hands. “You know these songs. You _wrote_ these songs.”

“I wrote these songs,” Julie said. “With Luke. Who I think I might be dating? Maybe. It’s not clear.”

“What?” Flynn shook her head. “When did this happen?”

“Last night,” Julie said. “You guys were asleep, and we were talking, and he told me he liked me. I don’t know where that leaves us now.”

“Okay,” Flynn said. “Slow down. Let me get this straight—”

“Neither of us are straight,” Julie interrupted.

“Let me get this biromantic ace and pansexual—”

“Better.”

“Luke told you he likes you, you probably said something similar to him, you didn’t confirm whether or not this means you’re dating him, and now you’re worrying about it right before the Battle of the Bands.”

“Yes.”

“Right. Julie, Luke is head over heels for you,” Flynn said. “Get out there and show him—and everyone else—how amazing you are. _Then_ ask him if he’s your boyfriend or not.”

Julie nodded, and Flynn hugged her.

“I’ve got this,” Julie said.

“You’ve got this.”

After the Battle, Flynn met most of the band backstage.

“You guys were amazing!” she said. “That was better than any of the rehearsals. Where’s Luke?”

Reggie pointed to something behind her, grinning. “His parents came.”

Flynn turned to see Luke, standing at the edge of the stage, in the middle of what looked like a very awkward conversation with an older couple.

“Wow,” Flynn said. “That’s great.”

Luke said something to his parents, squeezed his mother’s hand, and turned toward his friends.

“After party!” he called. “Let’s go!”

They announced the results an hour later. The after party was already in full swing.

The winner of Los Feliz High School’s 2020 Battle of the Bands was Julie and the Phantoms.

Flynn and her friends hugged and danced in a circle when they heard. Julie and Luke held hands and whispered nonsense in each other’s ears. Alex was sitting in a corner with Willie. They were both laughing, and Flynn saw them kiss at least once. Good for them. Flynn danced with Reggie and a few kids she didn’t know.

Then Carrie Wilson walked up to her.

“Hi,” she said. “Flynn.”

“Carrie,” Flynn said. “What can I do for you?”

Carrie’s gaze moved over Flynn’s shoulder, and Flynn realized that Julie had appeared from the crowd and was standing at Flynn’s side.

“Julie,” Carrie said. “I wanted to tell you—I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean for us to end how we did. I let everything get to my head. That’s on me. I realized that, watching you play up there.” Carrie smiled a little bit. “They’re good for you. Your new band.”

“Thanks,” Julie said. Flynn knew Julie hadn’t forgiven Carrie, but it was a start.

“I’m going to go find my brother,” Carrie said. “We’re having a party at my place tomorrow night. You guys are more than welcome to come.”

Julie and Flynn glanced at each other.

“Maybe,” Julie said. “Probably not, though.”

Carrie nodded and walked away. Flynn turned to Julie.

“I’m proud of you, Jules.”

Julie smiled and slung her arm around Flynn’s waist. “I didn’t really do anything.”

“You were able to set healthy boundaries after a shitty breakup,” Flynn said. “That’s not nothing.”

Julie tugged Flynn through the crowd to where the boys were waiting. They were standing at the side of the room with Bobby, clearly having just finished an awkward conversation of their own.

“See you around,” Bobby said. He nodded to Flynn and Julie and went off after his sister.

“I think there’s hope for those two yet,” Reggie said thoughtfully.

Flynn rolled her eyes. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s dance. Julie and Luke need a break before they start writing your prom songs.”

“ _Our_ prom songs,” Luke said. “We still need our band manager.”

Flynn figured that was a pretty sweet gig for her senior year.

She also thought that maybe, just maybe, she’d gotten what she’d wanted out of reforming a band.


End file.
